Bike Nirvana
Yet another cycling blog
Custom build: Colnago C59
March 31, 2017
Last year, I found myself staring at this beautiful C59 frameset at Primo Cycles. While I'm definitely interested, my wallet isn't and the lust needs to pass.
Last night, I saw a post at a local Facebook page for a pre-owned C59 frame at a more affordable price. While the cost was a big part of the consideration, it was the size that was the deciding factor. Furthermore, the frame is also Di2 specific as clearly stated in the ad. Here's one of the original photo from the owner.
After getting a bike that's a bit small, and a bike a bit big, this 45s Colnago C59 should be the perfect fit for me. I texted the owner and I picked it up today.
The frame has its share of battle scars but none that turns me off, and those can be easily solved by retouching. A minor issue for me was the short steerer tube which means that the stem is slammed. But hey, I can lose a few millimeters right?
I was cleaning the frame when I discovered thru measurement that it isn't a 45s, bummer! It is a 42s that is exactly the size of my V1-r. I was so frustrated about the situation that I told myself to just sleep it over and I will inform the seller of the discovery to ask for a refund of the payment. Of course it crossed my mind that this size will still work for me, as the V1-r did. But that was beside the point of the purchase.
When I woke up from what seemed to be a nightmare, I texted the owner about the discovery. He called me and after a lengthy discussion and considerations, I decided to give it a chance. If it doesn't work then I'll just sell it as a whole bike.
This is the first time that I bought a pre-owned frame, so I had to perform thorough cleaning, degreasing, and greasing of the headset bearings as well as cleaning of the bottom bracket threads. I then attached the frameset to my trusty "bike workstation" and started working on it.
As a Di2-specific frame, putting in the electronic wires are easy, specially with the wire puller I made.
I re-used some of my parts like the Deda stem and drop bar from the Niner RLT 9 steel which will now inherit the Zipp Service Course drop bar and stem. The Giant saddle and the Ultegra Di2 groupset will come from the retired Propel Advanced. The only thing missing are brakes because I was stupid to include the Ultegra brake calipers on Eddy Merckx Blockhaus frameset that I recently sold. For the meantime, the old and trusty CNC 50mm carbon wheelset will be used.
I headed to Cartimar the following day to buy a pair of Ultegra brake calipers when I remembered that there were white colored SRAM brake calipers at Life Cycle. I messeged Percy and when she confirmed the availability, so I headed to Life Cycle and bought the set for P1,250 only!
I like how it turned out and the build is nearing completion. I just need to wrap the drop bar and it'll be ready to roll.
I was deciding between silver or white bar tape and decided to go with the latter, the cheaper one for only P350. I thought that when they get dirty, it wouldn't hurt so much replacing them.
Finally, I got some carbon paste from my favorite LBS to prevent the seat post from sliding down.
Build configuration
I wasn't able to bring the weight down to less than 7 kg but this will do.
| FRAMESET Colnago C59 Italia | |
| Frame | |
| Fork | |
| Seatpost | |
| Seatpost lock | |
| Headset | |
| COCKPIT | |
| Stem | Deda Zero 75mm |
| Handlebar | Deda Zero Rhm01 |
| Saddle | Giant Contact Forward |
| Bar tape | Deda |
| GROUPSET Ultegra Di2 | |
| Levers | ST-6871 |
| Front derailleur | FD-6870 |
| Rear derailleur | RD-6870-SS |
| Cassette | CS-6800, 11-28T |
| Crankset | FC-6800, 52-36T, 170mm |
| Chain | CN-HG701 |
| Bottom bracket | BB-RS500PB |
| Battery | SM-BTR2-1 |
| Junction A | SC-M8050 |
| Junction B | SM-JC41 |
| BRAKESET | |
| SRAM Apex | |
Initial ride thoughts
I fitted the bike according to the V1-r measurements and didn't look back to the sizing issue. After more than 30 km, I thought it was a joyful ride.
The braking power from the SRAM Apex calipers are more than enough to stop the bike on a flat road. I will soon find out how it performs on steep descents like that of Casili from Marcos Mansion or Cardiac.
That stretch of road along Macapagal from J.W. Diokno Bldv. to Seaside Blvd. was a good test of the ride quality of the Colnago C59. It's a bad road, and even worse on the motorcycle lane. Surprisingly, I wasn't annoyed or I just had my sights on riding and didn't complain about each and every road imperfection I passed. It was also a test of how good the isolation I did with the junction box inside the frame.
I still wanted to ride some more, but I have a morning date. Overall, being 42s didn't become an issue, as well as the nearly slammed stem. It'll take more rides to pass full judgement on this build, but right now it is a delight.